What Equipment Have You Tested?

[GolfSpy_APH]

Have you tested anything recently whether it be in a store or tried a friends club or anything else if you tested it we would love to hear about it and how it performed or did it live up to expectations?

I'm testing some swiss putter companies. I'll go to one company Tuesday to try them out and another one the week after. These are niche brand companies that I've never seen in shops and want to give them a try and see how they react. They have a ton of customization and should be a lot of fun to use. They will however have to do a lot to get my strokelab 7 out of the bag. 

[mynerds]

There must be something in the air lately for lefty putters. I've liked my Odyssey White Hot Pro 1 blade putter for a while, but I had been struggling with alignment and leaving putts short as of late. I knew I wanted to at least try something new if for no other reason than to mix up my putting practice routine. I looked at a few mallet putters but eventually decided to give the Odyssey Two-ball Ten a try.

For one, it's about as different from my blade as I could get while still keeping the feel that the Odyssey face insert provides. For another, I'm a lefty golfer but right-hand dominant. I suspected this might lend itself well to an armlock putter since it would be locked into my dominant hand. Even so, I was somewhat hesitant to make the purchase. I tried a non-armlock two-ball putter at DSG a few weeks ago and absolutely hated how the putter looked at address. However, the benefit of the two-ball alignment was immediately apparent and I felt it was very easy to aim. I fully swallowed my pride once I noticed the putter on sale for $100 off MSRP at PGA superstore.

I practiced on my puttout mat in the basement and the improvement over my blade was so immediate and apparent that I audibly yelled "wow!" I took 10 shots each at 1 foot intervals from one to five feet away. Not only did I make all fifty shots, but I was making "perfect" putts roughly 20% of the time. I took it out on the course the next day and finally felt like the ball was going where I was aiming. I'll spend some time this week playing more in the five to ten foot range to help with my distance control at longer range.

I still have work to do in improving my reads, but its deeply satisfying to feel like I can get the ball do what I intend. I might not always make the right read, but at least my misses aren't a compound problem of both poor reads and stroke quirks. As an added bonus, the grip accepts the Shot Scope putter tags that my blade's SuperStroke grip does not .

I'm very excited for my putting future!

[revkev]

The sad reality is that I can't test anything out of the bags of the guys that I play with - one is 6'4" and his specs have nothing to do with mine (although I have hit his sub 70 irons a few times and like them - but I hit them left every time because they are up 3 and I'm down 2), another is my age, around my size and SS but I have no interest in what he games - I've hit his driver a few times - it's a good enough older Titleist driver but no where near as good as mine - then everyone else is a pro (literally) or a member of my middle school golf team.  

[hartrick11]

My brother recently benched his G425 5 wood so I decided to give it a whirl. It has a KBS TD 80g Category 4 shaft on it, and it was possibly the most automatic club I have ever tried on a range. Second range trip out, same thing. Tight bullet fades that were carrying 235, within 10 yds of my TSi2 3 wood despite a 2.5* loft difference, and rolling out to about the same total distance (the KBS launches a good bit lower than the AD IZ in my TSi). I know I don't really need to hype up the quality of Ping woods on MGS, but I have pretty much zero Ping wood experience because I have always hated the sound they make as well as looking down at turbulators; this was eye opening to say the least though. The forgiving head (you can really miss the middle by a good amount on either side and still be fine) and the KBS shaft seems like a ridiculous combo...

Of course I brought it out with me on my last round and decided to use it off of 1, 2, 4, and 5 which are holes that call for well-placed drives 250 or less to avoid trouble: snap hook on 1, snap hook on 2, pulls deep and into trouble on both 4 and 5! +8 through 5 and back to the bench for the rest of the round lol. I have the speed to hit stout shafts but tend to overswing when I have something that really feels stout in my hand and I think that was the culprit on the course, which is why Graphite Design treats me so well.

I did bring it back out to the range for my most recent session yesterday and was bombing it again, so it will get another chance but I am almost rooting for it to fail again so I don't have to pony up cash to my brother or make any other changes to the top end of my bag which I had just started to get dialed in with. Don't know how many times I need to be reminded to not try anything else when things are otherwise working...

[GaryF]

I am in the market for new irons to replace my 13 yo Ping G15 irons which I hit as well as ever, but they have lots of wear &tear and I could use an infusion of new tech.  This summer I tested every variation of the STMax with multiple shafts,  Easy to hit and very nice clubs, but not sold.  Really don’t appeal to my eye.

A couple days ago while enroute to visit daughters family, I stopped by the Pgatoursuperstore in Roswell, GA,  I had visited a couple times the past few years with mixed experiences.  This experience was phenomenal.  Enroute, really felt I’d go Ping or Titliest, and maybe another dat test PXG. 

Walking in, I narrowed my iron choices to T300, G425’s and on the fence with JP921 HM’s.  Was in the morning and immediately greeted and since not busy, mentioned the 3 listed above, with steel R shafts. He set me up, and was doing pretty good with all 3. About 5-10 yards more with the Mizunos and Titliest.  But then he said, we really need to figure out what shafts to try, so he did a shaft fitting with 3 recommended shafts; 1 steel, 2 graphite.  He also tested for lie adjustment.  He then had me hit all 3 and got lots of data.

Then, after about an hour he suggest that since I was really warmed up, that he’d like to clear all the data, then have me hit 5 shots with each club. Now, my biggest issue, I have back issues (3 bulging discs, torn ligament leading to a facet, and spondylolothesis at L4/5 - all just my normal) and before going to the range, I do about 20 min of yoga stretches, which I wasn’t able to do after driving 2 hours.  So I had some mishits, mostly minor, but was really feeling things and not really swinging all that well.

Anyways, all 3 were good.  Data between Ping and Titliest almost identical, in carry and ball speed and 5000 rpm spin.  With Mizuno, ball speed +3 and +5 yards carry, and +10 total.  However,  spin about 500 less with Mizuno at 4500.    They also had slightly different shafts.  He also mention I was hitting Chromesoft LS and suggested next time in I bring the ball I play with. 

I am severely intrigued by Mizuno.  They look and feel good.  So do the other 2, but I really want that extra carry.   Got the reps name, and was so impressed with his time, patience and attention to detail.  I do ant to touch and feel the PXG, and as a minimum need to hit again and get similar results. 

Edited August 26, 2022 by GaryF

[Sluggo42]

I have been looking for a 7 wood to go with my epic max 5 wood. I can’t ever find one to hit, but I did have a nice few swing with a heavenwood. It’s too darned long! But it’s really sweet. I am sure the epic max 7 wood would be perfect. They seem to be hard to find without a senior shaft, or a woman’s shaft. Maybe that’s trying to tell me something, but mayyybeee, I need to just get a rogue 7 wood max… hmmmm

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

4 minutes ago, Sluggo42 said:

I have been looking for a 7 wood to go with my epic max 5 wood. I can’t ever find one to hit, but I did have a nice few swing with a heavenwood. It’s too darned long! But it’s really sweet. I am sure the epic max 7 wood would be perfect. They seem to be hard to find without a senior shaft, or a woman’s shaft. Maybe that’s trying to tell me something, but mayyybeee, I need to just get a rogue 7 wood max… hmmmm

Or go sub70 for half the price

[dlow206]

Don't all my purchases count as tests?

[GolfSpy_APH]

3 hours ago, dlow206 said:

Don't all my purchases count as tests?

You could certainly say that. I would love to see this section become a quick hits, TLDR (too long didn't read) of what have you tested and what was it like section. Don't have time for a full review or anything, well just give the brief notes. 

There is a Ventrus TR Blue for sale by me and it will likely be a tested shaft for me!

[GolfSpy BOS]

Currently testing the new Ventus TR Red 6x in my epic max LS. Two range sessions have shown promise (although my Rapsodo wasn’t working… might be an issue since I got a new phone) so I have no hard data. 
 

Visually it looked equal in speed and launch but seemed to be a little straighter, which would be exactly what I’m trying to get out of it. 
 

Im playing 18 tomorrow so it’s going to get pressure tested real soon!

[fozcycle]

This year…….I purchased a Tour Edge E521 9W. Had it in my bag most of the summer. I got a high lofted 145 yds out of it.  Then I dropped my Cobra F8 fairway woods (3 & 5) adding the PXG 0211 5 & 7 woods. The 9 W was then replaced by my new Titleist T300 irons(5 - PW).  My Wilson D7’s are out for sale to a Buddy and my Hogan Ptx irons go back in the closet.  I am getting more height from the T300’s so they are getting me to the green.  I have experimented and if I choke up on the 7 W I can dial it down to 150 and am using the 6 iron for 145 yard approaches.  The 5 iron is 160 yards.

Overall, I am pleased with the new irons and don’t regret pulling the 3 W out of the bag. I only used it a couple times a round and compensate with 3 H and 5 W.

The 2 clubs that stayed in my bag are th3 PXG 0211 Driver and Evnroll ER2 putter. BTW, I drained two 12+ footer’s yesterday! I love my ER2.

 

 

[dlow206]

7 hours ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

You could certainly say that. I would love to see this section become a quick hits, TLDR (too long didn't read) of what have you tested and what was it like section. Don't have time for a full review or anything, well just give the brief notes. 

There is a Ventrus TR Blue for sale by me and it will likely be a tested shaft for me!

hah it was a joke based on my rapid buy and sell habits.

going to be testing a TR Red 5S tomorrow though

[GolfSpy_BNG]

10 minutes ago, dlow206 said:

hah it was a joke based on my rapid buy and sell habits.

going to be testing a TR Red 5S tomorrow though

Very interested in your thoughts. The Red TR is in my radar even though the UB has been nothing short of amazing. 

[bens197]

LAGolf was a brand I was unfamiliar with this season.  I put the P135 series in play with the LAB MEZZ.1 during the MGS testing and a few months later, the DJ Series shaft went head to head with a Ventus Blue TR during a CC fitting and eventually beat the Fujikura mainstay.

I've been wondering if the LAGolf DJ deserves a testing thread.  It's underrepresented in most golf forums and YouTube tests and in my honest opinion, has been an incredibly surprising and strong performer since it arrived.  

Ok @GolfSpy_APH...I'll make it happen

 

[Sluggo42]

On 9/1/2022 at 8:26 PM, Vegan_Golfer_PNW said:

Or go sub70 for half the price

Well I just bought a epic max 7 wood, with a regular haz smoke shaft from callaway preowned for $125- 

I thought about a Sub70 but, as it’s kind of an experiment, I didn’t want to spend “new” money on a club. Especially without knowing what it might do- 

the 7 wood, it’s exactly the same as my 5 wood, as far as model and matching shaft- which I’m assuming (guessing?) might be a hair shorter. 
And if it doesn’t do exactly what I’m assuming it will do, will be an easy sale to get back to even. I’ll know in 3-4 days- 

now I’m almost wanting the 3 wood too haha since the 5 wood is so ridiculously easy to hit …

[dlow206]

Put a TR Red 5S into play today, no practice, just warmup and take it on the course. I'm coming from an Autoflex 505X, so keep that in mind when you consider my comments.

This thing is stout to me. Nothing about it feels loose whatsoever. It has minimal but a tight kick for me. Every time I tee'd off, when i hit a decent/good shot, it felt like I lost distance compared to the Autoflex, but went I walked up to my ball, it was just as far out as when I hit my Autoflex well. 

Dispersion was better for me than I have had recently with the Autoflex. Seems like I had less curvature with TR Red than the Autoflex. And maybe it is in my head, but I felt like there was less negative gear effect with the TR Red. I hit one way off the toe and it was still a tight draw instead of some sort of big hook.

[cnosil]

9 minutes ago, dlow206 said:

Put a TR Red 5S into play today, no practice, just warmup and take it on the course. I'm coming from an Autoflex 505X, so keep that in mind when you consider my comments.

This thing is stout to me. Nothing about it feels loose whatsoever. It has minimal but a tight kick for me. Every time I tee'd off, when i hit a decent/good shot, it felt like I lost distance compared to the Autoflex, but went I walked up to my ball, it was just as far out as when I hit my Autoflex well. 

Dispersion was better for me than I have had recently with the Autoflex. Seems like I had less curvature with TR Red than the Autoflex. And maybe it is in my head, but I felt like there was less negative gear effect with the TR Red. I hit one way off the toe and it was still a tight draw instead of some sort of big hook.

You need to build something with the cheap autoflex approach that has been discussed a lot recently.   Really curious about how it works.  

[dlow206]

1 minute ago, cnosil said:

You need to build something with the cheap autoflex approach that has been discussed a lot recently.   Really curious about how it works.  

I will try it to see how one of those would compare to the Autoflex.

But from a gamer perspective, think im sticking with the Ventus TR Red, i think the stability of it will help me. 

[cnosil]

Just now, dlow206 said:

I will try it to see how one of those would compare to the Autoflex.

But from a gamer perspective, think im sticking with the Ventus TR Red, i think the stability of it will help me. 

You could do a TR Red, just lighter and lower flex to do the experiment

 

[Sluggo42]

When I bought my cobra sz king 3 wood, it was just killing it in the booth at Roger Dunn. It has an adjustable hosel, and I have had it on 14.5D for ever. But for some reason, it never seemed to be a club I could hit ever since I left the store.  I have since then been looking for a Callaway epic max to match my magical 5 wood.

So this morning for some whim, I adjusted it to +1 standard, or 15.5 now.

I had 2 opportunities to hit it today, and both shots were incredible. Just by ever so slightly adjusting it, it now lays flat and perfect to my eye, instead of the closed look it had before the adjustment. I cannot express the happiness I felt after those 2 shots, as they returned my brain to how I felt about the club originally, and why I bought it in the first place. The shots were like tall rockets with an ever so slight draw, and looong. Shaft is a Tensi Blue S.

it was almost like a new club, and I suppose the lesson here is to not be afraid to tinker with your settings, if able to, as it’s almost like a new club. It’s funny because I never wanted to buy it in the first place, cuz I wanted a matching Mavrik, but the cobra just dominated everything else in testing. I was almost reluctant to buy it, but I think it was on sale too, so I said what the heck.

so anywhoo, it’s almost like a new club again, and I’m happy to report its working well again. I just wish I could remember what it was set on during initial testing…

[edingc]

My new-to-me Cobra RadSpeed Big Tour 3 wood came yesterday. First thing I did was loft it up to 16 degrees. First and only shot on course this morning was a high right miss but it had plenty of pop and height. Ended up hitting an excellent bump and run under some trees and made my birdie.

Went to the range at lunch and wow is this thing easier to hit than the Super Hybrid was. I'm able to get a lot more height so much easier, and it's incredibly forgiving on even bad strikes. Excited for me to get more comfortable with it - it's the first three wood I've had since #CobraConnect 2020. 

Cobra makes such great clubs and are seriously underrated. 

I do need to swap out the grip though. After playing undersized grips all year the standard Crossline feels huge!

[THEZIPR23]

I bought a used G425 3H to try to dial in a club from 230ish. It had just a stock shaft in it and I hit it well, liked the way it set up and while it does at time fly farther than I wanted (I know tough problem to have) I thought it was overall something that I could play long term, however I wasn't getting the height I wanted out of it. So I purchased a Raijin hybrid shaft to go in it and BINGO we have a perfect match. Last round with it I hit 2 par 5's in two. 1 from 234 and the other from 221. Exactly what I was looking for, so exact in fact that today a 4H was delievered.

[edingc]

1 hour ago, THEZIPR23 said:

I bought a used G425 3H to try to dial in a club from 230ish. It had just a stock shaft in it and I hit it well, liked the way it set up and while it does at time fly farther than I wanted (I know tough problem to have) I thought it was overall something that I could play long term, however I wasn't getting the height I wanted out of it. So I purchased a Raijin hybrid shaft to go in it and BINGO we have a perfect match. Last round with it I hit 2 par 5's in two. 1 from 234 and the other from 221. Exactly what I was looking for, so exact in fact that today a 4H was delievered.

Been looking at these. Like the idea of having a flat setting. That or PXG.

[THEZIPR23]

10 minutes ago, edingc said:

Been looking at these. Like the idea of having a flat setting. That or PXG.

The flat setting is what started me down this path, game changer on hybrids IMO. Never been able to do anything but hook them, I can fade the G425 if I need to. And the price just dropped....

[GolfSpy BOS]

6 hours ago, edingc said:

My new-to-me Cobra RadSpeed Big Tour 3 wood came yesterday. First thing I did was loft it up to 16 degrees. First and only shot on course this morning was a high right miss but it had plenty of pop and height. Ended up hitting an excellent bump and run under some trees and made my birdie.

Went to the range at lunch and wow is this thing easier to hit than the Super Hybrid was. I'm able to get a lot more height so much easier, and it's incredibly forgiving on even bad strikes. Excited for me to get more comfortable with it - it's the first three wood I've had since #CobraConnect 2020. 

Cobra makes such great clubs and are seriously underrated. 

I do need to swap out the grip though. After playing undersized grips all year the standard Crossline feels huge!

The big tour! 

So is this a tee-alternative club for you?  I still feel like I could fit something in between driver and my 5-wood.  I'm just not sure It will be worth it in the end.

[GolfSpy BOS]

3 hours ago, THEZIPR23 said:

The flat setting is what started me down this path, game changer on hybrids IMO. Never been able to do anything but hook them, I can fade the G425 if I need to. And the price just dropped....

the ability to flatten via loft sleeve or bending is a requirement now for me on hybrids.  TSi3 flattened has been a great fit for me.  The Pings are great too.

[GolfSpy_APH]

3 hours ago, GolfSpy_BOS said:

the ability to flatten via loft sleeve or bending is a requirement now for me on hybrids.  TSi3 flattened has been a great fit for me.  The Pings are great too.

I mean in theory as long as there is any loft sleeve available it would be possible to do. I use to do that with my Cobra driver which had a right handed sleeve making the draw setting a fade setting. Talking to more guys in the local shop they have a increase of lefties and have specific left handed testing shafts there now so they can do a "normal" fitting with them and then if they need fade they pull one of the right handed shafts. 

[edingc]

7 hours ago, GolfSpy_BOS said:

The big tour! 

So is this a tee-alternative club for you?  I still feel like I could fit something in between driver and my 5-wood.  I'm just not sure It will be worth it in the end.

Yes and no. That slot in my bag is the only remaining "single purpose" slot that is geared toward where I play the most. There is a short par 4 where driver would be too much but 4 hybrid would leave a tough shot into the green. You're best whacking it up as far as you can without going over.

That being said, as I've gotten better I've gone for a couple of the par 5s in two this year with mixed success. I struggled to get the Super Hybrid to launch high enough consistently. The Big Tour seems much easier to launch even from the turf. 

And to top it off it has the Motore X F1 in it.

[GolfSpy BOS]

1 hour ago, edingc said:

Yes and no. That slot in my bag is the only remaining "single purpose" slot that is geared toward where I play the most. There is a short par 4 where driver would be too much but 4 hybrid would leave a tough shot into the green. You're best whacking it up as far as you can without going over.

That being said, as I've gotten better I've gone for a couple of the par 5s in two this year with mixed success. I struggled to get the Super Hybrid to launch high enough consistently. The Big Tour seems much easier to launch even from the turf. 

And to top it off it has the Motore X F1 in it.

That’s great that it’s working off the turf early on in your testing too. I feel that it would be a thin machine for me being a “big” 3. Or maybe the face is still shallow enough?

[edingc]

53 minutes ago, GolfSpy_BOS said:

That’s great that it’s working off the turf early on in your testing too. I feel that it would be a thin machine for me being a “big” 3. Or maybe the face is still shallow enough?

Yeah, I did watch some reviews and certain folks (Michael Newton, I think) preferred the regular fairway to the Big Tour off of the deck. The sole is still pretty flat, but the face appears to be a little deeper. Overall the size of the Big Tour isn't all that "big," however.

That being said, I think the selling point of the RadSpeed Big Tour for me (versus the previous SpeedZone iteration) is the stock 14.5* loft, and I've immediately gone and put it to 16. It launches easy enough in this setting and should still give me plenty of distance. 

My range has some pretty tight lies and I was impressed with the performance. On course I'm probably not one to play a wood from such a tight lie - the length of our older bluegrass fairways means that I'm most likely pulling a wood when I get a nice fluffed up lie.

There is definitely more potential as a tee club, but I'm usually one to go full send with the driver. There might be only one or two other holes that would benefit from more than 4 hybrid but less than driver. We'll see what I choose to use as I get more experience with it.